This startup is recycling old denim to make new pairs of jeans for under $100 - here's what they're like to wear

Owen Burke/Business Insider

I'm wearing the Frank And Oak Dylan Slim Fit style from the Circular Denim collection.

• Frank And Oak has always been eco conscious about its clothing, but the apparel startup is furthering its sustainability efforts with a denim collection that recycles old jeans.
• The Frank And Oak Circular Denim Collection takes old jeans, breaks them down, and mixes the fibers with new materials to create a new fabric. The process reduces the amount of virgin cotton used and saves lots of used denim from landfills.
• At $89.50 per pair, the more sustainable style is still a fair price for quality jeans - and you'd never know they were made with old denim.

It doesn't matter if you get dressed for fashion, function, or basic human necessity, I'm willing to bet that denim has a place somewhere in your closet.

As common and popular as denim is in apparel, producing it negatively affects the planet in ways that probably don't cross your mind when you're stepping into your favorite pair of jeans.

Fortunately, plenty of brands have taken the initiative to make more sustainable jeans by using organic cotton, fewer chemicals, and less water in the production - a positive trend that will (hopefully) become an industry standard over the next few years.

Frank And Oak is already on the list of brands making sustainable denim, but they're proving to be ahead of the curve with a new collection called Circular Denim.

Frank And Oak

The Frank And Oak Circular Denim collection includes styles for men and women.

Rather than simply making cleaner, less impactful denim, Frank And Oak is saving post-consumer jeans from landfills by repurposing them in their production process - and that doesn't mean they want to sell you someone's old jeans. The new production process is broken down into four simple steps: collect, cut, combine, and create.

Frank And Oak

The life cycle of the Circular Denim collection.

In the collection, you'll find two men's styles (skinny and slim) each in a variety of washes ranging from dark to light, along with black and grey pairs. For women, there are a few more styles, including a wide-leg pair, all of which come in a variety of denim washes and colors.

My experience testing out Frank And Oak's Circular Denim

Last year, Frank And Oak sent over a pair of its HydroLess Denim for me to test out and I liked them so much that I went back and bought another pair. Going into the Circular Denim review, that was my gauge for quality and satisfaction.

As expected, you'd have no idea that these were made in part with old jeans that were ready to be thrown away. If you're weary of the jeans being of lesser quality than what you'd normally expect out of any decent clothing brand, you shouldn't be. The quality absolutely holds up.

I went with the Dylan Slim in Washed Grey and they fit perfectly. I recommend going true to size.

Owen Burke/Business Insider

The pair I chose fit me really well. They even look good cuffed.

The bottom line

For $89.50 a pair, Frank And Oak's Circular Denim are only $10 more than other styles the company makes. Even with the small increase, that's still a fair price to pay for jeans that will actually last. The fact that they're made from recycled materials doesn't affect the way they look, feel, wear, or hold up in the wash. Just by looking at them, nobody will know how your jeans were made, but telling them is something you should be proud to do.

Shop Circular Denim and other sustainable denim styles at Frank And Oak now.

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